


Another World

by EternalRedWolfe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Spoilers for The Flash, long fic, spoilers for supergirl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalRedWolfe/pseuds/EternalRedWolfe
Summary: What happens when, broken and alone, Lena Luthor finds an oppurtunity and takes it... To another Earth?What happens when she encounters Harrison Wells and he makes her an offer she can't turn down?What happens when she finds herself in a similar position to the one she left? Will she run again? Will she take control of her situation? Will she let her walls down?
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The timeline is messed up in this one: basically, imagine that the first 4/4.5 (I haven't decided entirely, yet) seasons of Supergirl occurred pre this story. 7 years prior, in fact. 
> 
> This idea came to me my first watch through, but only around the end of season 1, so, as of my second watch, Lena's position in this story is fairly firmly placed from season 2 onwards and I'm pretty happy with my writing style from then on. The season 1 rewrites, however, don't feel as clean as season 2. I hope that you will stick with me until then. 
> 
> Retitled from A LUTHOR AND A SPEEDSTER to ANOTHER WORLD
> 
> Also, like I said, my writing for the first few chapters is kinda blotchy - there are elements of it that not even I'm happy with so any and all constructive criticism will be deeply appreciated.
> 
> Happy Reading!

The crunch of the gravel pulled Lena Luthor back to reality. She had just been thinking about the last time she had worked out of a garage, with Jack Sphere, when she should have been filling out these grant applications. The more she looked at them, the more frustrated she was becoming: her accolades from Earth 38 couldn't all be transferred to this earth.

She waited a minute for the source of the disturbance to venture into her workspace, kitchen, bedroom but none did. "Hello?" No reply. She stood and walked to the entrance of the garage. "Hello?"

"Sorry." The man in the suit appeared from the side of the garage in almost a flash. "I saw you were working and didn't want to bother you." Lena's demeanor remained icy. "What... Were you working on?"

"What can I do for you?"

"Right to the point. I admire that." He walked further into the garage, picked up an award, inspected it, and replaced it. "I'm planning a project and I think you might be an asset to my team. I- "

She crossed her arms in front of her, studying him, trying to garner more information than existed at her disposal. But nothing was coming to her. "No. Goodbye, Dr. Wells." Lena turned on her heels and returned to her garage.  
  
"So you know who I am." He trailed behind her as she fumbled at her makeshift workstation. "Does that mean you're familiar with my work here? Or that of my counterpart's on your earth?"

Lena froze and counted to three before exhaling. This was the first time that she had heard anyone mention another earth - let alone her earth - since she had arrived. She wasn't sure if that was what had shocked her or the fact that anyone else was aware of the existence of another universe. Lena turned to Harrison Wells. "I'm not entirely certain you exist on my earth. How do you know about-"

"The multiverse?" He walked to a wall and leaned against it. "I've had my suspicions that a breach occurred a few months ago but I wasn't sure until just now."

"What do you want?" She turned to him, giving him the best Luthor look.

"I want you to work at S.T.A.R Labs with me."

She shook her head. "No. It's nothing personal. I've just had bad experiences working with other people."

He waved his hand in front of him. "Well, it's not just a case of working with me, working at STAR Labs." He picked up a paperweight and tossed it casually in the air. "I don't want you to work for me. I don't want you to be my employee. I want you to be my partner."

Lena raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Of course you do," she commented dryly. "Goodbye, Dr. Wells."

"I'm serious. I have plans to build a particle accelerator, one that will change the face of science. It will change the whole world and I know you want that too, I've read your papers. And I know that you are the only person on this earth that can help me achieve this."

Lena's face contorted into utter disbelief. "You can't be serious. You don't know what I'm capable of. You don't know who I am. And I don't know you."

"I know more than you think. I know you're a good person. And I know that sometimes, good people do bad things for the right reasons. And whatever you had to do on your earth, you believed you were doing it for the betterment of mankind. That's the kind of person I want on my team. Someone who sees the big picture. We can change the world. Starting now. Or you can fill out grant applications, apply for jobs at Mercury or Amertek or Ivo get shot down because without a half decent background, you're not getting a foot in the door - I'm guessing you're not going to explain that you're from another universe - and down the road your going to show up at STAR Labs looking for work and I will hire you. Because I am aware of what is out there. So cut out the middle man." Harrison dropped a manila folder onto the table. "These are my plans. Look 'em over." He stopped when he reached the door, as though sensing she had moved from to the table, could feel her fingertips grazing the folder. "I really hope you consider this."

\-------------------------------------------

Lena dropped the book on her stomach as she reached her arms up over her head. She'd only managed a couple of paragraphs, replaying the conversation she'd had with Wells again and again.

She stood and stretched as the sun began to rise, gingerly stepping over the sheafs of paper splayed on the ground as she walked the room. She had to give it to him, Wells had a good idea, the plans were solid. But years had taught her that no one wanted her for anything other than their own gain. She wanted to change the world, but at what cost? She was already clinging onto her soul; could she stand being betrayed again?

She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it into a ponytail. She gathered up the papers and shoved them into her bag and left the garage.

\-----------------------------------------

She walked into the office while the secretary was still saying that Dr. Wells was busy. "Why?"

"I need to have a word with my security team." Harrison tossed his pen onto his table and leaned back, then smiled. "Kidding, I told them to let you through if you ever showed up." He looked over Lena's shoulder to the receptionist and lifted a hand, smiling. She closed the door behind her.

"Why should I work with you?"

"I think your knowledge of another world could prove invaluable to what I want to achieve and would push up my timeline. You're immensely intelligent. And I've worked really hard not to take on a partner since my last one died. But the more I look into you, and what you've done here, I'm certain Tess would have loved to work with you _."_ He leaned forward in his chair. "Let me level with you, Lena. I could do this without you. It would take longer - I'd have to find someone much inferior to you to lead my bio division and the buiness side of things, someone who doesn't impress me nearly as much as you do - but I could do it. I'd rather have you as my partner, my equal, give the project that something that it would be missing otherwise." 

"I need ultimate transparency. Complete control over my own division. And every decision business-wise we approach as a team. Every decision."

"I'll have a contract written up and sent over to you this afternoon."

"I don't trust you. In fact, I expect you to stab me in the back."

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

"I won't betray you. I'll do my job - get the particle accelerator running. Then I'm out. But I want it written in the contract that I'll have access to the Particle Accelerator when I need it, and I'll have my lawyer look it over."

"I hope over time, I can change your mind about people, Lena."

"I wouldn't hold my breath. I'll see you Monday then." She was half out the door when she turned around. "And I want my own office. And a moving fee."

"A moving fee."

"I'm not going to be very productive in a garage."

"You're going to push me pretty hard, aren't you?" Lena merely shrugged in response. "I won't budge. I want you on my team. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you there."

"It'll be ready for you on Monday."


	2. The Night of The Explosion

_7 Years Later_

"...The future will be here faster than you think."

Harrison stepped away from the podium and followed Lena down from the stage, Caitlin Snow and a select few investors of the company trailing behind them, chatting excitedly. "That was an eloquent speech, Harrison. Nice finish."

"Compared to your introduction? 'A man of mystery who will open the door to providing countless answers to the questions of the universe.' I can see why didn't want me hearing the speech before hand."

"I figured I'd spare your blushes." They reached the elevator and Harrison held his hand against the door to gesture Caitlin and the others inside, holding his gaze on Lena while she checked her phone. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, not looking up.

"You... Seem content. It's a nice thing to see. I don't think I've ever seen this."

She dropped her phone into the front pocket of her dress and beamed. "T minus 20. We're almost there, we're about to change the world. I've never been this close to it." Lena stepped inside. "Usually, I get stabbed in the back long before this stage."

"I'll try and hold off on that one." Harrison pressed the button for the Cortex. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"7 years ago, I never would have thought this was possible but now... Thank you for bringing me in. For taking a chance on me."

"You're welcome."

They stepped off the elevator and rounded into the Cortex. Lena sat at the main workstation, doing a few final checks. She heard Cisco discuss with Wells the weather reports, Caitlin discussing Mai Tais with Ronnie. After a few minutes she stood up and moved to the side. "The accelerator is primed and ready for particle injection." She gestured to the small console. "Whenever you're ready."

The air crackled with anticipation from everyone in the room. Throughout the span of her career, Lena's involvement felt like a footnote, a citation, but now... Tonight... STAR Labs was just as much hers as it was Harrison's.

"Well, I feel I should say something profound like “one small step for man,” but all I can think of to say is, I feel like I've waited for this day for centuries." He pressed a button on the screen and the release began.

Cisco looked around the room. "That's it? You'd think there'd be, like, a loud bang."

"If there was a loud bang, we'd all be in big trouble," Ronnie replied.

Caitlin smiled at Ronnie lovingly. "Take it from the guy who helped build it."

Harrison looked around the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, we did it." 

The room erupted in chattering and applause. Lena smiled and shrugged at Cisco "It does feel a little anti-climactic."

Cisco jerked his head towards Harrison. "Good thing he's bringing out the good stuff."

Harrison came back with a bottle of champagne and popped the cork and began pouring it out. Lena gasped as the liquid in the glass flute began rising and then splashed to the floor. Almost immediately, an alarm sounded. And then -

Cisco checked the screens. "Was that...?"

Lena nodded. "A loud bang."

* * *

Lena stumbled out of the building, lights and screams surrounding her. Someone ran up to her as she followed the paramedics to an ambulance. The person grabbed her arm and she began swatting at him until she recognized Cisco standing in front of her. "Lena."

"Cisco. Harrison's injured, I need to go with him. Where're Caitlin and Ronnie?"

"Ronnie went into the pipline, he didn't make it." He followed Lena's gaze over to a sobbing Caitlin. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I need to go with Harrison."

"Lena, you're shouting."

"I am? My ears." She made a gesture. "Stay with Caitlin. I'll deal with all this but I need to make sure Harrison is ok first." She stumbled as she made it to the ambulance before climbing in. "Harrison." She took his hand. "You're going to be ok..."


	3. Team Flash Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Episode 1

"Harrison." Lena let the croak out before reaching for the glass of water, which she almost immediately dropped. "When? ... Ok, keep him there. I'm on my way." 

She dressed quickly, in a white shirt and slacks and left, heading the few blocks away to the STAR Labs facility.

She pressed the button for the floor where they were keeping him and walked briskly to the Cortex, to find, to her disappointment, Caitlin, Cisco and Harrison.

"Where is he?"

"He left," Cisco answered, frowning. "No goodbye, no thank you. Just left us with this." He held up a STAR Labs sweatshirt.

"How could you let him leave?"

"I didn't let him leave. Besides, what was I going to do? Run after him?" Harrison shot her a smirk before turning his chair to the workstation.

She turned to Caitlin and Cisco. "What're your excuses?"

"Uh-" Caitlin turned to Cisco.

Cisco lounged back in the chair. "We've been watching him all weekend. We're sleep deprived."

"I wouldn't worry too much about him Lena. He knows where to find us if he needs us."

"Did he exhibit any abilities?" Lena pulled up a chair beside Harrison at the workstation and clicked into Barry Allen's file, looking at his latest stats.

"He has abs. If I got hit by lightning, would I get abs?"

"I doubt it, but we can try it if you like, Cisco." Cisco let out a half hearted laugh. "Get out of here, both of you. Get breakfast and some rest." Lena didn't take her eyes off Harrison as she shot out orders. She watched him scanning some blueprints, making notes on a sheet of paper as he went until she was certain Cisco and Caitlin were out of earshot. "Abs?" Harrison didn't react. She nudged his arm with her elbow while he took a sip of coffee and he glanced at her. "Barry Allen was in a coma for 9 months. A coma brought on by a lightning bolt infused with dark matter."

"Why are you telling me all this? I know all this. I was, literally minutes ago, explaining all this to the man himself."

"Did you also tell him that you were the one who diagnosed him with tachycardia? That you figured out his heart was beating so fast it wasn't even registering?"

He nodded. "I explained my reasons for bringing him here."

"Reasons you came to me with. At 3 am. When I was sleeping."

"How many more times do you want me to apologise for that?"

"Harrison." She placed her hand on his arm. "How can his heart beat so fast that his EKG doesn't register it, and all he has to show for what happened to him.... Are abs?"

Harrison stared into the space in front of him, a look he had so many times when he was trying to find the right words. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Lena smiled. "You do know. Or you at least suspect?" Lena folded her arms. "If he's like the others, how can we be sure he's not a short fuse."

"Because of his character. Because of his family. I trust that if he exhibits any abilities, he'll do the right thing. I suspect that whatever Mr. Allen is capable of, we will learn about it very shortly." Lena cocked an eyebrow. "I'd go so far as to but money on it. A little wager?"

Lena stood up and squeezed his shoulders. "I learnt a long time ago not to make bets with you, Harrison."

She walked to her office, her mind swimming with memories of that night and the days following. Often, when she dreamt about the night of the explosion, she found it hard to shake the feelings that came with it, and as days passed and the feelings faded, her subconscious would throw the dreams at her again. 

She needed to know something good could come out of their work.

* * *

Lena's head rested against her arm as she heard the slamming and the ricocheting down the line of vending machines and let the thumps list off a few of the atrocities she had heard in the last hour _. Caitlin passed out from crying. Harrison will never walk again. Ronnie's family want answers, along with the rest of the world. Their competitors wanted their heads. People are dead._ She composed herself and came out from her hiding place at the corner, while the man slammed his hand against the machine. She held out her cup of coffee. "Here." The man looked at her, anger and distrust registering on his face. His gaze didn't break. "I don't take any sugar or milk so..."

"You're Lena Luthor. You and your partner are responsible for putting my son in here." Lena nodded. "You think a cup of coffee is going to make up for that?"

"Believe me, I'm under no such illusions."

He eyed the cup suspiciously. "Why the act of charity?"

Lena shrugged and looked into the liquid. "Because if I throw it away, I can add the minor charge of wastefulness to my already long list of crimes. And if I drink it..." She smiled a little. "Ever since I met him, Harrison used to joke that I was a capacitor..."

"My son is the science geek in the family. I don't know what that is."

Lena sat down on one of the plastic chairs. "It's a device that stores electrical charges. Energy. I used to want to throw things at him when he was being so blasé when we were so close to a breakthrough. I was focused and determined and driven. All the reasons he said he wanted me at STAR Labs. To be honest, I never really understood the analogy but, in the last 18 hours, I've learnt that 12 people are dead because of us, dozens more have been injured and my partner's love letter to his late wife is gone up in flames. I can feel the last 18 hours in my bones and if I drink this coffee, Boom."

"I'm a detective. I lost my partner the other night too. Then I got the call about my son."

"I'm very, very sorry. I will make this right."

He walked up and took the coffee. "Joe West."

The door to the break room swung open. "Dad. The doctors want to talk us." The woman speaking did a double take before shooting Lena an icy stare.

"Do yourself a favour and get some sleep."

"Detective. What's your son's name?"

"Barry Allen."

* * *

The knock on her door came 2 weeks later. She ignored it as long as she could, until her phone began buzzing on the bedside table. She fumbled for it in the dark.

"Hello?"

"Let me in."

"Harr-" But before she could question him, Harrison had disconnected the calls. She stumbled out of bed, into the darkness and out of her room, turning on the dim lights of her kitchen before heading to the door of her apartment. She pulled the door open and poked her head out. "What?"

He gestured to the door. "May I come in?"

She let the door slide open and closed the door behind him. "What time is it?"

"3.12." He took a cursory glance around the kitchen adjoining the living room. "Drinking."

"It's been six days, Harrison. I haven't stopped in 2 weeks. I've been trying to clean up our mess. 17 people are dead." She went to the counter and picked up a tablet and handed it to him. "You heard about the murders this week? People snapped in half?"

He held up the tablet, which was showing an colourful ring emanating from STAR Labs. "What is this?"

"I reprogrammed the satellites to show dark matter exposure from the explosion." Harrison swiped back and forth on the tablet, his face changing from uncertainty to shook. "How many other lives have we ruined, Harrison?" 

"I was right," he murmured.

"That's your concern? Are you kidding me?"

"Lena. You are right." He moved his chair over to the couch. "Sit down. We had the same thought, apparently. I've been tracking unusual activity in the city since the explosion. And I found..." He pulled out his own tablet and handed it to her. "This."

Lena pulled her knees up to her chest and read the information Harrison had given her. "25 year old male. Brought in the night of the explosion." Lena looked at Harrison. "He was hit by lightning. How is that _our_ problem?"

"Lightning, not so much. More what the lightning got infused with."

"Dark matter. It hit him right after the explosion."

"From what I can make out from reports, yes."

She straightened on the couch, tucking her legs under her to a kneeling position on the couch. "You have his EKGs?"

"Yes. I heard some rumblings and I checked them out but I could use a professional opinion."

Lena played the series of EKG graphs multiple times, watching as they flatlined. But it was impossible. His brain function was steady throughout it all. "He was hit by lightning," she whispered.

"A condensed shot of energy. Infused with Dark Matter."

"He's not flatlining. He's having bursts of energy. His heart is beating so fast it's not even registering."

"That's my prediction."

"It's not possible."

"Tell me I'm wrong. Because I have never in my life seen anything like this. Not on this earth. Have you?"

Lena hesitated. Since their first conversation, her origins rarely came up in conversation. "No. Not on this earth. But I have seen things. Super speed, super strength." While Harrison dissected the limitations the hospital faced in helping the patient, she stared at the file name, a series of numbers designating the time he was admitted to hospital. She barely heard him when he suggested that they might be able to do more for him. She stared at his picture instead.

"Lena?"

"What's his name?"

"Hm?"

"The patient. What's his name?"

"Uh, Bart. Barry. Barry Allen."

* * *

The following morning, Harrison called Caitlin and Cisco and asked if they could come by Lena's. When they entered the apartment, the air grew tense, no one knowing what to say, what to do. Caitlin had clearly been getting less sleep then Lena in the last two weeks. She knew the young Doctor had checked on Harrison more than she had and she was deeply grateful for that alone. She had been so busy dealing with the public, with health agencies, investors, Harrison had fallen low on her priority list. She smiled at Caitlin as she walked in. Caitlin barely tugged the corners of her mouth up in response.

To her surprise both Cisco and Caitlin were interested in remaining in STAR Labs, going forward.

They began to pile out, Cisco, Caitlin and Harrison heading to the facility.

"I'll go talk to his next of kin."

Harrison paused. "Are you sure? Perhaps I should."

"No offence but I've been dealing with the families after what happened. And I, uh... I've met his next of kin already.

"Are you sure? I don't think they'll be very forthcoming with this idea. You shouldn't have to do this alone." Harrison's eyes narrowed.

Lena nodded. "Go. I'll be fine."

* * *

Lena found Joe staring in a window as machine's beeped from the room inside and doctors barked orders. She spotted the Detective's daughter at the end of the hallway, her face buried in her hands.

"Detective West. How's he doing?"

His daughter walked up to them, her tear streaked face breaking Lena's heart. "How do you think he's doing? His heart keeps stopping. Over and over. This is your fault."

"Iris."

"She's right. This is my fault. Mine and my partners." She turned to Iris. "But you're also wrong. Barry's heart isn't stopping. It's beating so fast it's not registering."

"Wh- Why aren't they just saying that? Can they fix it?"

Lena shook her head. "I'm afraid not. They can't even fathom it as a possibility." She took a deep breath, the pitch she had prepared on the way over disappearing from her mind, leaving her alone. "I think you should relocate Barry to STAR Labs.

"STAR Labs caused this." "

And we can help him. My team..."

"The team you have left," Joe corrected

"Even with the small team I have, we are still second to none and we can help Barry."

"So Harrison Wells can soothe his ego."

"So he can help Barry. Do you want to know the truth? I've been so wrapped up on cleaning up this mess, bailing out my employees, and the families who've been affected by this and finding ways that I can make all of this better. The truth is my interest in Barry is when he wakes up. I want to find out the long term effects of what's happened and use that information to make the world a better place. Harrison wants to help Barry, to find a way to wake him up. Please. Consider our offer."

The Wests did and by the end of the week, Barry Allen was situated in the Cortex in STAR Labs and Iris and Joe were fixtures in the place. For nine months a routine was in place. Lena would take over by day, Harrison making himself scarce as often as he could while the Wests were there. Cisco and Caitlin traded off bringing in food.

As the months wore on, the Wests were still visiting the Labs everyday but their prominence had faded.

Life goes on.

* * *

Wind gushed passed Lena as something smacked into a stack of shelves "Wh-- How did you...?" It didn't take her long to recognise the man lying contorted on the floor in front of her. "Barry."

He struggled to get up. "Something's happening to me."

"Alright, come with me." She grabbed his arm gently and led him out of her office. "What happened?"

"You're Lena Luthor." She nodded. "I'm a big fan."

"More pressing issues here, Barry."

"Right." He explained as they took the lift a few levels: the world slowing down at Jitters, crashing into everything outside of the police station, running faster than he was ever able to before. He was pacing back and forth. "I know how impossible this sounds."

"You'd be surprised what I believe." She searched his scans from that morning. "When you woke up there was not grogginess, no atrophy, nothing?"

Barry shook his head. "What's going on?"

"I don't... I don't know. But we're going to find out." She pressed a couple of buttons on her the workstation. Harrison and Cisco's faced popped up immediately. "Guys, I met Barry."

_"Where?"_ Cisco asked, then frowned. _"STAR Labs. You're at STAR Labs, right?"_

Lena nodded. "There's a situation."

_"What kind of situation?"_ Harrison asked.

"The kind that makes me glad I don't make bets with you." She eyed the blank section of screen that denoted Caitlin's station. "Where's Caitlin?"

_"I'm here._ " She called her head poking in beside Cisco.

She had Barry explain to the team what had happened. For a split second she saw a glint of something in Harrison she had nevver seen before.

Cisco was giddy. "We need to run tests. I need to work on something." Cisco busied himself at the other table, Caitlin taking center stage on the screen.

"Where though? He can't exactly run around the city, it'll raise too many questions."

"There's not enough ground for him to cover here to give us a clear depiction," Lena agreed.

"Ferris Air. It's unused, it's out of the city. We can set up the mobile testing unit. Everyone meet in the garage in 10 minutes."

* * *

"You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?"

"Yes," Lena moved passed them.

Harrison eyed her with amusement. "Well, I believe anything is possible, and in a few minutes, maybe you will too."

Lena walked up to Barry and Cisco and cringed at the red outfit. "How does it fit?" Cisco asked him.

"It's a little snug," Barry replied.

"At least you will be moving so fast no one will see you. See, you thought the world was slowing down. It wasn't. You were moving so fast it only looked like everyone else was standing still. Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output, and Caitlin, your vitals."

"What do you do?" Barry asked Cisco.

"I make the toys, my man."

Lena turned to Cisco. "Is it ready?"

Cisco held up an ear piece. "This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified. Typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, potential sonic booms, which would be awesome."

Lena shook her head, following Cisco to the command centre. She glanced at a few screens while Caitlin prepared Barry for his vitals to be monitored. When she next looked up, Harrison was talking to Barry. Their paths crossed as they swapped positions. She was fiddling with settings on the speed gun. "You ok?"

"Yeah."

"Just relax. Take a deep breath. It's perfectly fine if you don't have command of it yet. We just need a preliminary idea. Then we can head back to STAR Labs and run some tests."

"Ok."

Lena held up the gun. "Ready when you are."

Barry began running, releasing a gush of wind that pushed them all back, and Cisco off his feet.

"He just passed 200 Miles per hour." A mix of emotions filled Lena as she was reminded of flying through the air, concrete hitting body, gusts of wind, eyes emitting heat - until Barry crashed.

* * *

The room cleared out. Everyone but Lena and Harrison had gone home. She was still reeling from the information about Barry's mother.

Harrison entered her office. She glanced at him, then down at the pen she let drop from her fingers. "You shouldn't lie to him."

"What lie?"

"He might not be one of a kind... After everything we've seen.. He could be right. What if this... Man in Yellow was like him? Or something else entirely, something we're not aware of."

"We'll help Barry figure it out. We still need to stay focused. Barry needs to get control of his speed."

She was about to retort when Barry stormed into the Cortex. She followed Harrison out. "I wasn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator explosion, was I?"

She answered before Harrison could get in. "We don't know for sure."

"You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But that's not true, so what really happened that night?"

She knew him well enough to know he'd round the question so she stepped in again. "The accelerator went active. We all felt like heroes, and then..." She walked over to the computer and with a few clicks on the keyboard, brought up a schematic of the particle accelerator from the night of the explosion. "It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energy, x-elements..."

"Those are all theoretical."

"And how theoretical are you?" Harrison asked.

"We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City. Though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... Who was exposed, we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself."

"Meta-humans"?

"That's what we're calling them," Caitlin answered.

"I saw one today. He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather."

"This just keeps getting cooler," Cisco offered.

"This is not cool. All right? A man died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."

"That's a job for the police." Lena recognised the harshness in her voice.

"I work for the police."

"As a forensic assistant. You don't have control over your abilities yet, going up against Mardon might not be the wisest option just yet."

"You're responsible for this. For him. Both of you."

Lena was stunned when Harrison became angry. She hadn't seen him this way in a long time. "What's important is you! Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world... Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero! You're not a hero. You are just a young man who was struck by lightning."

After Barry left, Lena followed Harrison into the hallway. "What was that?"

"What?"

"Isn't this supposed to be the other way around. What did you say to me once: I think of the big picture, you think of the individual."

"And?" His hands were clasped tightly in front of him.

"And here our roles seem to be reversed."

Harrison cocked an eyebrow. "Yes well. I have to admit, I'm a little surprised at you the last few months. People with powers. I would have thought given your history with Superheroes, you'd be all against Barry going out there and being a Superman."

"And I'm surprised your not seeing the potential he has to re-establish our reputations. You weren't the only one who lost things that night, Harrison."

* * *

Later that evening, Lena walked into the Cortex finding Cisco and Ciatlin hurriedly hiding the monitor screens. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing," Caitlin answered.

_"Guys?"_

"Is that Barry? Where is he?" Lena stepped towards the workstation but Cisco blocked her.

"Not going up against Mardon, that's for sure."

Caitlin swung her head around to him. "Really."

_"What if I unravel it?"_

Lena turned the monitors on and checked the data while Cisco talked to Barry. "How the hell are you going to do that?"

_"I'll run around it in the opposite direction, cut off its legs."_

"You'd have to clock 700 Miles-per-hour to do that," Lena returned.

Caitlin shook her head. "Your body may not be able to handle those speeds. You'll die."

_"I have to try. "_

Lena leaned between Caitlin and Cisco, her eyes darting between the screens.

"The suit's holding up," Cisco chuckled.

A worried expression crossed Caitlin's face. "But he's not."

Lena toyed with her necklace. "He can do it. I know he can do it."

"You can do this, Barry." Lena's head swung around to were Harrison was positioned on the other side of Cisco. "You were right. I am responsible for all of this. So many people have been hurt because of me, and when I looked at you, all I saw was another potential victim of my hubris. And yes, I created this madness, but you, Barry, you can stop it. You can do this. Now run, Barry, run!"

She chanted silently to herself, "come on, Barry, come on."

The wind stopped over the headpiece. She knew her colleagues eyes were bearing the same questions she had. "Barry?" Gunshots pierced the room. "Barry?"

_"It's over. I'm okay."_

The quartet loosed a sigh of relief, each with a smile.

* * *

The small team gathered around the display. "You'll need a name," Cisco offered. "How about Superspeed?" Lena and Caitlin shook their heads. "Superman?"

"Definitely not." Lena was the first to break away from the group.  
  
"You were exceptional out there Mr. Allen."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Wells. For what I said."

"Perhaps we should pay more attention to the future," Harrison smiled.

"Well, I for one see drinks in the very immediate future," Lena said. "Who's with me?"

"If you're buying I am definitely drinking."

Barry, Caitlin and Cisco were already heading out the door while Lena shrugged on her jacket. "You coming?" she hasked Harrison.

"I'll be right there. I just need to check on something."

"Anything I need to know?" Lena asked hoisting her handbag onto her shoulder.

He shook his head. "Just basking in a win for a while."

Lena beamed at him. "Don't be too long. Cisco might drain the bar."


	4. The Fastest Man Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set Episode 1.02

Lena made her way down to the Cortex, meeting Harrison on the way. "You're late. That's surprising."

"I was actually early. I was in the lobby."

"Why do you still insist on using the front door?" Harrison asked

"Because it's my company." He sighed. " _Our_ company." He turned to Lena and she shook her head. "Why do you seem to not care about that aspect of things?"

"Because we have Barry. Barry, who is a proverbial miracle and-"

He was cut off by raised voices down the hallway. The followed them to the Cortex, where Caitlin was admonishing Cisco and Barry for playing firemen.

"Will you please say something?"

Harrison and Lena looked at each other, expectantly, at the same time, but Lena backed away. "This is all you."

Harrison maneuvered his chair around the desk in the middle of the room. "I think what Caitlin is saying, in her own spectacularly angry way, is that we are just beginning to understand what your body is capable of. Not to sound like a broken record, Mr. Allen... I do caution restraint.

"Dr. Wells... I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today."

"In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things. Know your limits."

Barry looked at Lena, as if looking to put the odds three to 2. She shook her head. "I'm staying out of this one." She busied herself at the screen while he answered his buzzing phone.

"I'll be right there. My day job beckons." No one could say bye before he left the room.

"When do you think he'll realize he didn't take his clothes?"

* * *

"You lied to us. How could you not tell us you're experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. God knows what's going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack."

Barry looked at Lena for clarification. "Mini stroke." She shook her head. "Probably not."

"You of all people should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets." Caitlin turned on her heels and left the room. Barry, Cisco, Harrison and Lena all watched her leave.

Cisco pulled the Twizzler from his mouth. "Wow... I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since...

"Ronnie," Lena finished.

"Ronnie was Caitlin's fiancé?" Barry asked. "The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?"

"Yeah," Harrison answered. "He is... missed. Now... Let's figure out why this is happening to you."

The group moved to the observation room that overlooked the treadmill Cisco had set up. Barry walked into the adjoining room, Cisco pulled out a chair, Lena claiming the seat beside him. Harrison and Caitlin sat beside them. "We're all set. A little padding. Just in case. Yeah."

"Are you're sure about this, Cisco?" Lena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about 12 miles per hour. This one..." Cisco turned slowly in his chair to look at his friends. "...has been Cisco'ed." Lena and Harrison shared a smile. "Trust me. It can handle your speed. Okay."

Barry began running. Fast. Fast. Faster.

"Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal," Caitlin stated.

"For Barry," Lena added.

Harrison nodded. "Brainwave function within standard limits."

Cisco laughed. "I told you the treadmill could take it."

"Lena," Harrison said. "Look at the glucose levels."

"Oh, my God. Of course."

"Right?"

"It was so obvious."

Harrison pressed the button on the console. "Glucose levels. Barry! We think we know why you keep--" Before he could finish, Barry faceplanted the treadmill and was propelled into the stack of boxes set up for cushioning. "--passing out."

When he came too, they were back in the Cortex. "I passed out again?"

Caitlin nodded. "Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia."

"I'm not eating enough?" Barry asked. "So an I.V. bag and I'm good to go?"

Lena waved her hand at the pile of empty IV bags overflowing from the bin. "Try 40. Guess you were thirsty."

Caitlin nodded. "We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes."

Cisco walked over to them with a tablet in his hand. "I've done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 850 tacos. Unless we're talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations."

"For Mexican, I recommend Tito's. On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city." The group turned to the entrance to find Joe West standing there.

"Detective West. What brings you to S.T.A.R. Labs?" Harrison asked.

Joe directed his answer to Barry. "When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Turns out there's been reports of a red streak around the city, stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings."

Lena turned to Barry. "You didn't tell him we were working together?"

"Joe, I can explain."

"You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry. I suggest you get back to it."

"Mm-hmm." Joe looked at Caitlin in annoyance but she held up her hand. "Don't look at me. I'm on your side."

Lena moved away from Barry, towards Joe. "We all want what's best for Barry."

"If you wanted what was best for Barry, you'd try to talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him going out there risking his life."

"You saw a man control the weather," Harrison stated. "What are the police gonna do against someone like that? Since the accelerator explosion we suspect there may be more like him."

"And you're gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not! You're just a kid. My kid."

"I'm not your kid, Joe. And you're not my father."

The air turned cold. Lena looked at him shocked. "Barry."

"My father's sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him. And you're wrong about this. Now I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it. And you can't stop me. So don't try."

"You think you're so smart." Joe looked around the room. "All of you. But you don't know what you don't know. And I hope that you're clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed."

Joe turned and left the room. Lena followed him out. "Joe."

"What can you possibly have to add? Another spin to make me think you have Barry's best interests at heart?

"I never spun you a story, Joe. I was honest with you from the get go. Harrison wants to help Barry, I want to save the world. Barry is the apex of our goals."

"Barry's my son. And you'll cast him aside when you're done with him."

"No. I promise you. We will do whatever we can to protect Barry. And if Barry wants to protect this city, we'll help him. Keep him safe."

* * *

Barry winced while Caitlin cleaned his wounds. "Sorry. The abrasions are already rapidly healing."

He winced again. "Yeah, I got my ass handed to me."

Cisco stared at the suit. "You got blood on my suit."

"I think some of it belongs to him. Another not-so-friendly meta-human."

Harrison pulled up a file, transmitting it to all the screens in the room. "Danton Black. He's a bio-geneticist specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones."

"He worked for Simon Stagg. Apparently Stagg stole his research and then fired him."

"I saw Black create duplicates from his own body."

Lena leaned on the table in front of her. "That's pretty ironic. The guy specialized in cloning and now he can make xeroxes of himself."

Caitlin tapped a pen against her hand. "If he was experimenting on himself when he was exposed to the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator explosion--"

"Meet Captain clone." Cisco's smiled quickly faltered. "Don't worry. I'll come up with something cooler."

Barry made his way to the entrance. "Where are you going?" Harrison asked.

"Joe was right. I'm in way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one meta-human, let alone six."

"Barry. I understand. Today was a setback. But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times."

"This wasn't a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells. This was a mistake."

Barry sped into the room, then panicked by what he saw. Caitlin tried to assuage that panic. "Barry, it's okay."

"It is not okay. Black is here, and he's just...standing there. That's not him, is it?"

"It's one of his replicates."

"How did you get it?"

Lena stepped forward. "I grew him. I isolated a sample of Black's blood from you suit to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating... Into that."

"Why isn't he... It doing anything?"

"We did a brain scan." Caitlin answered. "Involuntary motor functions are active, little else."

"We think it's acting as a receiver," Harrison added. "The clones are an empty shell without Black. Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down."

"But how do we know which one's the real Danton Black?"

Caitlin gestured to Barry. "That occurred to me given your own passing out. Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue. He's the prime."

"Just a theory... But one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen."

Lena tossed a bar to Barry. "Plus, I whipped up these high- calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up."

Just then the clone started moving. Gunshots rang through the air. Joe stood, holding his gun out. "Any more of them?"

Caitlin shook her head. "Nope."

"Why did it start moving?" Cisco asked.

"The prime?" Lena offered. "My guess is, the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle."

* * *

The team spanned the Cortex, watching the news report. _"Central City police officials are now confirming former employee Danton Black--"_

Barry shook his head. "I tried to save him."

Lena shrugged. "Doesn't sound like he wanted to be saved. Some people, when they break... They can't be put together again." She patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

Barry watched her, then let his eyes fall to Harrison. "Some people heal even stronger."

Harrison smiled. "I hope so."

"Well, at least multiplex won't be able to hurt anyone else." Cisco turned to Lena smugly. "Told you I'd come up with a cool name."

Barry surveyed the room, the people in it. "Yeah, I may be the one in the suit doing all the running... But when I'm out there helping people, making a difference... You're all out there with me. Finally realized something, we were all struck by that lightning."

The small team looked at one another, basking in the sweetness of the moment until Lena rolled her eyes. "I thought that when I moved to this city I was leaving all the saccharine declarations behind." She grabbed her coat and bag and left.

* * *

The elevator dinged and Lena stepped out. She glanced around the precinct as she walked into the bullpen. "People are going to lump me in with you guys." Lena raised a questioning eye. "First Wells, now you. Rumours are going to go around that I'm working with STAR Labs."

Lena raised her hands. "Technically, you are."

"What can I do for you?"

Lena sat on the chair opposite him. "I wanted to apologize. I should have made sure that Barry spoke to you about this before we did anything. Trust is a very big thing for me and I'd hate to break yours."

"And you trust those people you work with?"

"Truthfully?" She nodded her head. "It took a really long time but yes, I trust them with my life." Lena sighed. "And I'd like to know I can trust you and Barry too. And that it's reciprocated."

"We'll have to see."

"Well, I guess I should start trying to win you over. Are you still on the clock? I hear alcohol is really good for the whole trust and honesty thing."

"Yeah, I could use a nightcap."

Lena stood as Joe's phone rang, she smoothed her coat and shoved her hands in her pockets as he spoke. He sighed as he hung up.

"I might have to take a raincheck." Joe stared into space.

"Is everything ok?"

"I don't know if you heard, but there was an explosion a few months back. Gave a lot of people special abilities."

"I heard about that."

"I have a feeling I'm going to be pulling overtime."


	5. Things You Can't Outrun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set Episode 1x03

When Barry and Joe came into the Labs and told them what they knew, the team gathered around, discussing it with enthusiasm. Elbows on the desktop, Harrison leaned forward in his chair. "Fascinating, a meta-human that can manipulate poison gas."

Lena pulled up a chair beside him and look over his shoulder at the console. "Is it just poisonous gas, or can he control all aerated substances?"

"And how is he able to formulate the connection? Is it physiological or psychological?" Caitlin asked.

Harrison shook his head. "This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances."

"You mean connect with gases on a molecular level?" Cisco asked

His bosses answered at the same time. "Yes."

Cisco smirked. "That is ridiculously cool."

Barry leaned over to Joe as they discussed this. "They get really excited about this stuff."

"The only thing I'm excited about is putting criminals behind bars. Except Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle meta-humans."

"Then I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us," Harrison pointed out.

"Well, unless we're planning on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses are gonna have to come up with someplace else to hold them."

Cisco looked at Lena. "A meta-human prison. Sweet."

Harrison nodded. "Until we figure a way to remove their powers."

Lena looked around the group apprehensively. "There is one place here that might hold them."

Cisco caught on first. "You can't be serious. I mean, we haven't been down there since... it's cordoned off."

Realisation then hit Harrison. "Lena is right. It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison."

"What could?" Barry asked.

"The particle accelerator," Lena answered.

"What's it like down there?"

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say, not great," Cisco replied, his hands behind his head.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Lena stood up, followed by Cisco. "Let's go." They were out the door. By the time they reached the elevator, Harrison caught up. "Everything ok?"

"Caitlin is going to help Barry identify the gas. I think we can manage between ourselves."

* * *

Lena looked over at Cisco. "Someone has to say is... This feels a little weird." She reached over to the panel and opened the door.

Harrison pressed the throttle on his chair. "Well. Once more. Et cetera, et cetera."

They reached they walked into the ring and took a look around. "The copper in the tube is arranged to form cavities, and we can use those cavities as containment cells," Lena observed.

Harrison nodded. "Of course, we'll have to design them to counteract meta-human abilities, but... might just work. First, we have to decouple the main injection system on the gantry level."

"I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you."

Cisco looked at his bosses. "Why don't I do that?"

"I need the exercise."

* * *

When Barry sped back to the labs, gasping for air, Lena, Harrison and Cisco froze. He wheezed. "I can't breathe."

Lena grabbed his arm and lowered him to the ground. "He needs oxygen. Get the crash cart!"

Harrison did as he was told while Lena and Cisco carried him to a gurney.

"Cut me open. The poison's still in me."

"He brought us a sample," Harrison said.

Lena ran her hand through her hair. "We need to do a pulmonary biopsy, extract an active portion of that gas. Barry, I can't give you any anesthetic. Your metabolism will burn right through it."

"I heal quick, remember? Do it."

"Cisco, give me the syringe. This is gonna hurt a lot."

Cisco passed it to Lena. "It's a small needle. You probably won't even feel it."

"You're definitely going to feel it."

A couple of hours later, Barry came to. The monitors beeping steadily, keeping track of his vitals. Caitlin and Cisco were beside him. He loosed a groan. Cisco smiled. "The Streak lives."

Worry crossed Caitlin's face. "You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly."

"My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette. Yeah, teen me lived for danger."

"This isn't funny. You could've..."

"I didn't."

Lena was focusing on a screen the displayed the a chemical makeup. "Now that we have a sample, we'll get to work analyzing it, figure out the makeup of the poison, maybe get a clue as to his human identity."

"Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist." Cisco clicked his fingers. "The Mist. Okay, that's his name. End of discussion."

Barry stood up. "I have to get to the station."

"You should be resting," Harrison cautioned. He looked at Lena as Barry left. "He needs to be careful."

"He will be," Lena reassured.

* * *

A few hours came and went. Lena felt thankful for the endless supply of coffee that came from... She wasn't even sure. Finally, she felt herself brighten. "That's it."

"What?" Harrison wheeled over to her.

She pressed a the mic on the screen. "Barry, Caitlin, you down there? You got to come look at this. Check this out." When they came up from the pipeline, she filled them in. "It's a 3D molecular model of the gas we retrieved from your lungs."

"We have identified the toxin," Harrison announced. Lena cocked an eyebrow at him. "You have identified the toxin." Lena pressed a button on the keyboard.

"Hydrogen cyanide?" Barry asked.

Lena nodded. "Mixed with a sedative."

Barry came to the conclusion quickly. "Of course. The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed."

"Why?" Cisco asked the question, but he was already doing as he was asked. 

"That sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go to the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide."

"There was someone executed. Kyle Nimbus."

"That's him."

Lena stared at his rap sheet. "He was a hit man for the Darbinyan crime family. They turned on him and testified. Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his trial. She sentenced him to death."

"He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed. Records indicate the execution was completed."

"That's why there wasn't a match. The DNA database only has records of the living," Barry stated. He said there was one more person on his list. Check the arrest record. Who caught him? That could be his next attack.

Next to Lena, she felt Caitlin freeze. "Barry, the lead detective..."

After a quick call to Eddie, Barry turns back to the team. "Joe's at Iron Heights. I have to get there."

"Barry. I reverse-engineered an antidote to the toxin." Lena handed him the syringe. "I hope you won't need it. Cisco," Lena already spun on her heels, "let's finish the cells."

* * *

Caitlin eyed the cell. "Will it hold?"

Cisco replied with a scoff. "The barrier is powered by an 8.3 Tesla superconducting electromagnet, which is about 100,000 times the strength of earth's magnetic field."

Lena smiled. "In other words, yes."

Nimbus growled, then a green mist filled the cell. "Hmm. He's mad." Harrison shut the door to the cell. "Well, good night."

"So we're just supposed to get used to working above a makeshift prison housing evil people with superpowers?" Caitlin asked.

Lena shrugged. "You'd be surprised what you can get used to, Caitlin."

* * *

Harrison followed Lena to the Cortex as she put on her coat. "You look like you could use some sleep."

"You need to work on your compliments, Harrison."

"Any plans?"

"Nope. I'm going to go home and get that sleep." She swiped past a couple of pages on a tablet, then shut it off, looking at Harrison with a smile. She shoved her hands into her pocket.

Harrison opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "Night cap?"

"Uh, no thanks. I might check in on Joe." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

He stared after her as she left. "See you tomorrow, then."

The drive to the hospital wasn't long, traffic was light. She made it there just in time to pop into the gift shop and pick up a few things. When she reached the room, Barry and Iris were in the room with him. She knocked gently on the door. Iris turned in the chair, surprise reading on her face. "Ms. Luthor."

"Please, call me Lena." She looked at Joe. "I heard about what happened. I just wanted to see if I do anything."

"Here." Iris stood up and walked over to Lena. She gestured to the flowers Lena was clutching. "I'm going to get a vase." She turned and looked at Barry. "Barry, you want to help me?"

"Uh, why?" Barry frowned. "I mean, sure."

They disappeared around the corner. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Seriously? It's kind of unnecessary me being here tonight, but it'll make Iris feel better."

"She must be thrilled about you working with _The Blur._ " Joe winced. "She doesn't know, does she?" Joe shook his head. "She needs to know. Believe, it'll hurt her if she finds out that everyone was in on it but her."

"I'm protecting her, Lena."

"Alright, I won't overstep. And I'm going to enjoy telling you I told you so."

Joe laughed, then winced again. "Ow."

"Sorry."

"What's in the bag?"

Lena smiled at Joe and walked up to the bed. "Well..." and she began detailing every product the gift shop had to offer. 


	6. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set 1x04

_What does the fastest man alive do on his day off? Before the lightning bolt, if I wasn't still at the crime lab, I'd be at home chilling, but now my days off are different. Now they aren't so lonely. The lightning didn't just give me speed. It also gave me friends._

Caitlin threw the electronic tweezers on the table in frustration. "This isn't even remotely anatomically correct." 

Barry smiled smugly. "That's not the point, Dr. Snow." 

"Then what is the point?" 

"To have fun." 

From the connected lab, Harrison didn't look up from the chess board as he spoke, planning his strategy. "And to continue your ongoing training by testing the speed of your mind by pushing your ability to multitask." 

"I'm waiting on you, Dr. Wells." In a split second he ran from Harrison's chess board across the room to Lena's. "Checkmate."

"Son of a bitch," she whispered. 

Harrison made his move. "Checkmate." 

Barry's smug smile disappeared. "Wait, checkmate?" 

"Checkmate. I guess we still have a few things left to learn, don't we, Mr. Allen?" 

An alarm went off on one of the computers. Barry checked it. "Armed robbery at 4th and Collins. For the record, I crushed it in operation and ping pong." 

Caitlin jumped at the sound of the buzzer as the electronic tweezers hit the side of the board. "It's not as easy as it looks." 

* * *

"Have you seen this?" Harrison held up a newspaper as he entered the office. Lena looked up from the chess piece she was playing with.

"What is it?"

"Apparently we are not the only disgraced scientists in this town." He dropped the paper on the couch beside her.

"Stagg is missing?"

"His little stunt the other week with cloning technology has set him back. And now he's gone off hiding in the mountains. Now why didn't I think of that." It was a statement, more than a question, to make Lena smile and it worked. "What's on your mind?"

Lena picked up the pawn from the board and began twirling it again. "I'm just thinking about this damn game. I hate it."

"What?" Very few things shocked Harrison Wells so Lena decided to revel in this moment for a while.

"I learned when I was very young. And after my mother died and I moved in with the Luthors, it was the first thing I did with Lex. We played a game. I won. And it all started from there. When Lillian looked at me with... something resembling pride, Lex began to resent me. Disdain me. From then on everything we did, every interaction was a chess game. I didn't realise until I came here how much I hated it."

"We've played quite often."

"Yes, well, it's a good thing you have Barry now, isn't it?" She glanced at her watch, then stood. "I have to go."

"Big date?"

"I'm meeting Joe for coffee." She grabbed her bag. "So maybe..."

Harrison looked amused. "I don't think I've ever seen you date before. This could be interesting."

Lena laughed. "Do you need anything else?"

"No. Go. Enjoy yourself."

* * *

"Here you go." The steam rose from the cups as Iris poured the coffees.

"Thanks Iris," Lena said. She watched Joe stare at his hands, then glanced at Iris, who was doing the same thing.

"Can I get you guys anything else?" Iris asked. Joe didn't answer. Lena shook her head and smiled apologetically. 

Lena hugged the cup in her hands. "So, Harrison and I were talking today and we were thinking we would rebuild the particle accelerator."

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah... We're going to do exactly what we did the last time. Explosion, dark energy release. We're even thinking about finding a way to recreate a lightning storm so we can make another Speedster."

"That's nice..."

Lena poked his hand. "What's going on?"

"Hm? Oh, uh," he dropped his voice a couple of decibels. "Iris is dating Eddie, my partner."

"And that sucks for you because...?"

"It just puts me in an awkward position. Eddie's my partner but now, he's this other thing. And if anything happens to him..."

"Maybe this isn't a bad thing, having that extra incentive to look out for him. He's in the same boat. When I came to this city and Harrison offered me the job, there was a part of me that said run for the hills."

"Why didn't you listen to it?"

"Because, ultimately, we both wanted the same thing. We wanted to change the world. In different ways, but ultimately the same goal. You and Eddie have the same goal." She pointed to Iris. "Maybe be open to this, just for a second."

* * *

When Lena walked into the Cortex she was stopped in her tracks. "Felicity Smoak."

"Whoa, you know who I am too." Felicity walked around the central workstation and grabbed Lena's hand, shaking it vigorously. "I'm a really big fan. I'm Felicity. Felicity Smoak. But you already knew that... Hah hah. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"We've met before."

"We've met bef-" Felicity's smile dropped. "What?"

"About a year and a half ago, at a benefit in Star City. You were with Oliver Queen. You called me-"

"Gorgeous. Oh my god... I'm sorry. Not for the gorgeous part, that's true. But I vaguely remembered that, I just thought it was a dream. Not that I dream about you regularly. Or at all. Please god, somebody stop me."

"Do you want to see what Barry can do?"

"Yes please." 

Lena indicated for her to join Harrison, Caitlin and Cisco in the observation room.

"Check this out," Barry called and began running.

Felicity watched in awe. "How fast can he run?" 

Lena shrugged. "He hasn't reached his top speed yet, theoretically speaking." 

"So is he really okay?"

"His heart rate is within normal range for him," Caitlin answered.  
  
"No, I mean, the lightning bolt changed him. Do any of you really know how much?" 

"We know a fair amount." 

"If everything about him is sped up, is he going to age faster? What would happen if he ran too fast? I mean, would he just be running, and then, poof, he's dust in a red costume?" 

"Everything we do here at S.T.A.R. Labs is to protect Barry Allen," Harrison answered. "Trust us, Felicity, he is in very good hands here." 

"Hey," Barry called. "Want to see how fast I can run backwards?" 

"Barry, n-" Lena winced as Barry fell backwards. "It's fine. He heals quickly too." 

* * *

Cisco walked into the Cortex. "We might have a problem." He led the team to a storage room where a locker lay open. "I created something. A weapon. In case Barry turned out to be evil. It's gone."

"How long has it been missing?" Harrison asked calmly. 

"I don't know." 

"I'm gonna ask you again, Cisco. But when I do, I expect a more specific answer than 'I don't know.' Now, how long has this weapon been gone?" 

"A day, maybe two." 

Lena checked a time log on her tablet. "One of the janitors didn't show up for work this morning. He was probably the one who took it. It's ok, Cisco."

"It is not, ok." In one swift move, Harrison slammed the door of the locker, causing Caitlin and Cisco to flinch. His voice raised to something Lena didn't recognise. "You didn't think, Cisco, because if you had, you would have discussed with me first your desire to build something that could, in theory, hurt anyone, and in particular, Barry Allen." 

"It's not his fault, Harrison." She stared him down. "I told him to."

He stared at her in shock. "Wh- Wh- Why would that even cross your mind to do?"

"We know what people with Barry's abilities are capable of. I thought we should be prepared."

"Against Barry Allen?"

"Barry has powers beyond our comprehension. And we barely know him."

"It's Barry. You know how I feel about weapons, Lena. They do not belong in S.T.A.R. Labs." He looked at Cisco. "Now, you are gonna figure out a way to locate this gun, and you are gonna do it right now." 

As Harrison left, Lena nodded to Cisco. "Get a start on finding it. I'll be right back." She followed Harrison out, leaving Cisco and Caitlin at the locker. She knew he was aware of her trailing behind but he didn't acknowledge her until they reached his office. As soon as he turned to her, she didn't give him a chance to speak. "So your word is law, now?"

"You wanted a weapon on this property that has no place here."

"It is if Barry decides following orders isn't something he wants to do."

"Do you think," he rubbed his face, "that maybe your past experiences with superhumans is clouding your judgement?"

"At least I have an excuse for being prepared. You want us to follow him blindly. I won't do it."

"He's not hiding anything from us, Lena. He's been completely transparent, about his parents, about everything he's been through. Were you so blinded by jealousy on your other earth that you can't place your trust in Barry?"

Lena smirked. "It's surprising. After all this time, you really don't know me, do you?"

* * *

Barry stared at the ground as Caitlin cleaned his wound. "Snart wasn't another meta-human. He has some kind of gun. It froze things, slowed me down... Enough that I wasn't in time to save someone." 

Joe shook his head. "According to his record, Snart didn't even bother to finish high school, so how did he build a handheld high tech snow machine?" 

Standing next to him, Lena looked at Cisco and spoke before he could answer. She crossed her arms. "S.T.A.R. Labs built the cold gun. Harrison and Caitlin had nothing to do with this. I built the gun."

"I helped," Cisco added.

"I gave the go-ahead. This is on me."

Joe shifted beside her. "You did? Why?" 

"Because speed and cold are opposites." Cisco explained. "Temperature is measured by how quickly the atoms of something are oscillating. The faster they are, the hotter it is, and when then are cold, they're slower on the atomic level. When there's no movement at all, it's called... Absolute zero." 

Lena nodded. "I designed a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute zero." She stared straight at Barry. "I built it to stop you." 

Cisco joined Barry and Caitlin at the gurney. "I didn't know who you were then, Barry. I mean, what if you turned out to be some psycho, like Mardon or Nimbus?" 

"But I didn't. Did I?" 

Lena gestured to the room around them. "We built the entire structure you're standing in to do good, and it blew up. In the wake of that, you can understand why we'd would want to be prepared for the worst." 

Barry stood up. "I can understand that, but what I can't understand is why you didn't tell me what you did." He looked at Cisco. "I mean, after all we've been through, I thought you trusted me. I thought we were friends." 

"We are, Barry," Cisco reassured. 

"I mean, if you would have just told me, I could have been prepared. But instead, someone died tonight." 

Lena straightened and took a deep breath, but made sure to express no emotion on her face. "And I have to live with that." 

"No, Lena. We all do." 

* * *

"Snart's gone." Lena looked up, her hand still rubbing her neck. She placed her palms on the edge of the desk and pushed her chair back. "I've put feelers out, but-" Joe shook his head. "Snart's a professional."

Lena nodded. "We tried to track the gun again, but he must have disconnected it." She stood up and walked around the desk. "So, how angry are you with me? On a scale of Caitlin's understanding nature to Harrison's death stare."

"Not angry, just disappointed."

Lena winced. "The worst. I guess we won't be going for a coffee anytime soon."

"You built a weapon that could seriously harm my son."

"And there are weapons in this world that could easily harm your daughter. Barry's lightning is just one of many. If Barry ever turns goes rogue, I need to know I can protect people."

THey were clearly at an impasse so Joe turned and left the room. Lena followed him. 

"You have a great team here, Barry," Felicity was saying. "Speaking of teams, I should probably get back to mine." 

Harrison smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Smoak. Please extend a hello to The Arrow for us." 

"I will." 

"I'll walk you out," Joe offered. Lena began rifling through files on a table until she found the one she needed.

"Do you know where Cisco is?" Barry asked.

"Uh, his workshop I think. Caitlin's with him," Lena answered, scanning the pages. 

"Working on anything I should know about?"

"That's clever," she replied, not taking her eyes from the sheets as she sat down, "why don't you run along and ask him? He's under no mandate of secrecy from me." Finally, she looked up at him, glancing at Harrison placed between them. "If there's a problem, Barry. It's with me. Not Cisco."

They watched him as he walked away. "Well," Harrison finally said, "you're certainly not his favourite person at the moment."

"Oh, please. I was never his _favourite_ person."

"Lena? Don't you ever do anything like that again. Do you understand me?" When Lena let her eyes fall to him she felt stunned, the wind taken from her lungs. Harrison was smiling at her but there was only animosity from his eyes. She stared at him, crestfallen.


	7. Plastique

Harrison dropped a box from Jitters onto Lena's table. "What's this?" she asked, reaching for it.

"A muffin. I'm going to say blueberry. I should have gone for chocolate, right?"

"Thank you, Harrison, but this is the fourth muffin you brought me this week."

"So."

"So, it's only Tuesday. What are you up to?"

He wheeled his chair around to the side of the desk. "I felt bad. For what happened the other day. Our arguments about Barry. We never argue. I've felt... off about it. I want to apologise properly but I'm not very good at it. Let me make you dinner. Tonight?"

"Great minds..."

"How's that?"

"I offered to cook for Joe and Barry to say sorry."

"Ah. They are aware your brand of cooking is to order in, yes?"

"Hey. I cook. Just not often. Why don't I pencil you in for the end of the week?"

"I'll have to check my calendar. I too have people chomping for my company."

Lena laughed. "Jealousy is a really bad look on you."

"Ha."

Lena followed Harrison off the lift, down to the Cortex.

"A va file number is all the info you have on the bomber?" Cisco asked.

Barry shrugged. When he saw Lena, the room noticeably dropped a few degrees. "C.C.P.D's been ordered off the case."

"Well, who has the power to do that?" Caitlin asked.

"The army. Some General. His name was Eiling, I think."

"General Wade Eiling?" Lena asked.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, we know him."

"About ten years ago, General Wade Eiling contracted S.T.A.R. Labs to develop enhanced gene therapies for soldiers." Harrison shrugged. "I was interested in the potential medical benefits for civilians. General Eiling really wanted to develop mind reading capabilities for interrogation purposes. I stopped the study when I saw his techniques up close, but our split was less than amicable."

"He took all the evidence I collected on the bombing. Everything but the folder."

"Well... Lucky for us, the va finally joined the new millennium and digitized their records. A lot of redacted info. But our girl's name is Bette Sans Souci, an EOD specialist for the army."

"EOD?" Caitlin asked.

"Bombs," Lena answered. She looked over Cisco's shoulder and pointed to the screen. "Is there an address?"

* * *

The restaurant was lit brightly. Not so much that it was off putting, but well enough she could make out all the exits if she needed them. After Barry get Bette out of the city and made it back to STAR Labs, Lena felt more wiped out than she had since the weeks after the explosion. She wanted to go home, soak in the bath for an hour and get a decent night's sleep. But the area code on the phone number intrigued her, as did the conversation that followed. She jotted down the address and headed out.

The maitre'd led her to a table near the kitchen. She spotted General Eiling immediately and took a seat. "General."

"Ms. Luthor." He let loose a chuckle. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you without Harrison lurking somewhere."

"I have a lot of trust in him."

"Misplaced trust."

"Much like the trust we had in you."

Eiling chuckled again. "I like you, Ms. Luthor." He reached for the bottle and began pouring into his glass, then offered some to Lena.

"I'm not staying, General. I only came to hear what you have to say and then I expect you to leave STAR Labs alone. Harrison and I-"

"And your friend? It doesn't take a scientific brain to realise Harrison had something to do with that... Streak. I called you here to encourage you: keep Harrison Wells at arms length."

"That's funny, General. I gave him the same warning about you 5 years ago."

"Harrison surrounds himself with the best minds. Minds that he will siphon off until there is nothing left for them and then he will cast you aside. I should know."

"Harrison terminated his contract with you because of what you were doing to Grodd. We're done here." Lena stood up.

"Fine. But don't come looking for me when he casts you aside." She began to leave the table. "And believe me, Lena, it's only time."


	8. Rift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set immediately following the events of 1x07

Lena ran her toe over the floor while she waited for the elevator. It dinged and the doors opened when she heard her name. She turned around. Harrison wheeled up to her. "Heading home?"

She turned her back to him and walked into the elevator. "You sound surprised."

"It's early. You're usually here well after nine."

"It's been a really long day."

Lena pressed the button for the lobby but Harrison stopped the doors from closing. "Thank you for your concern tonight. With Farooq."

"Someone tried to kill you tonight. Of course I was concerned."

He played with a loose thread on the cuff of his sleeve. "I... I feel like we've been so... Out of sync, lately."

"Out of sync? Is that what you're calling it?" She stepped to the edge of the lift, between the doors. "You gave me hell, froze me out. For days, after that debacle with Snart. You sent a man to his death tonight."

He rubbed his lips, then straightened in his chair. "What do you want me to say?"

"Anything. Have you _nothing_ to say for yourself?"

"I did what I had to do to protect Barry. To protect the team."

"No, you made it clear the first time around. This is about Barry."

"Of course it's about Barry," he snarled, clenching his fist. "You have no idea... If Barry's speed... His regenerative abilities existed before? They could have saved T-- They could fix..."

She looked at him for a few seconds in silence. "I'm sorry, Harrison. Truly. But lately, I don't recognise you. Tess wouldn't recognise you."

Harrison let his hands drop to his lap as the doors closed and immediately, Lena heard a loud thud hit the doors.


	9. Rage

Lena swiftly moved the small flashlight from one eye to the other before Barry pulled away. "No signs of macular damage. Your retina and cornea seem unaffected." 

"I told you, I'm fine." He stood up from where he was seated on the gurney.  
  
"You said Bivolo whammied you." She pulled off the surgical gloves. "No desire to go MMA on any of us?" 

"No. Yeah, I mean, something weird happened with his eyes for a sec." 

"Weird thing?" Felicity asked. 

"Yeah, everything went red." 

Caitlin and Felicity looked at each other. "You were right," the STAR Labs member said. 

"Okay, next thing you know, Bivolo was gone. Look, obviously his powers didn't work on me, so..." Barry grabbed his jacket and made his way to the exit. 

"It was stupid for you to go out there alone. You take too many risks. As fast as you are, that's going to catch up with you," Caitlin cautioned.

"Caitlin," Barry turned on her. "I'm not Ronnie. You gotta stop treating me like I am." 

Caitlin tensed as his words filled the air. "You're right. You're not." Felicity and others watched as she left the room.

Lena walked up to Barry. "You need to take a minute," she said, then followed the young doctor out.

* * *

"Okay. I'll call you back later." Felicity terminated the call and turned to Team Flash. "That was The Arrow. He says Barry is acting strangely." 

"Strangely, how?" Caitlin asked.

Before anyone in the room could answer, Joe walked into the Cortex. "He's been whammied. He was acting angry. It was scary. And his eyes... They glowed." 

"It's possible that his body is fighting off the effect, so it's hitting him slower," Harrison observed. He cast his eyes to Lena then back, before anyone but she could notice. 

"When it comes to rage, that is not a good thing. The longer you suppress your emotions..." Lena shook her head. "The bigger the explosion."

"Considering what he can do, how do we even stop him?" Felicity asked.

Lena moved to the console and tapped few keys. "A cold-gun would come in real handy right about now." 

"Hey," Joe admonished. 

"I'm just sayin'." 

"Mmmm hmmmmm." Cisco held out his hand and Lena promptly slapped it, casting a smug look at Harrison that he pretended to ignore. He wheeled his chair to the front of the workstation. "None of us can stop Barry. Fortunately, Felicity knows someone who can." He turned to face Felicity, "I think you better call back Oliver Queen. We're gonna need The Arrow's help. 

Felicity stuttered. But Lena interjected. "Oh, come on, The Arrow starts up the same time Oliver Queen comes back from the dead. We're the smartest minds, Felicity, we were bound to figure it out at some point. Call him."

"O... Ok."

"Do we have anything to stop Barry's rage fest?" Cisco asked.

"I have an idea about that," Lena answered.

* * *

"I have him." Felicity spun around in her chair. "Facial recognition picked him up on a traffic camera downtown. Oh, God." Everyone in the Cortex looked up, bar Lena, to watch as The Flash took on Barry.

"Is it ready?" Harrison asked.

Lena shook her head. "I can finish it on the way there... Joe, you drive." She stood up, handing the to Harrison as she passed him. "Take this. When I say, you press the big red button." She and Joe were already wheeling out the table with the device on it. 

* * *

The STAR Labs van barrelled towards the heroes as Barry stood, towering over Oliver. 

"Is this even going to work?" Harrison asked.

"He just needs to see the right colors. Now!"

Joe turned the wheel sharply and hit the brakes while Harrison hit the button on tablet and Lena shoved the door open. Barry turned to face them as the machine showed different colours. He gasped and fell to the ground. 

Lena jumped out and ran over to him. "Any fits of rage?"

"Just the onset of a really bad hangover."

"You'll be fine." She looked over to where the Arrow was beginning to stand up. "Hello Oliver."

* * *

"I wasn't sure if I should..." 

Lena looked over to the entrance of the Cortex and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Oliver. Team FlashyArrow did alright." Oliver grimaced at that for a while. Lena glanced around the Cortex: Harrison and Cisco were marveling over the machine Lena created; Felicity stood with Caitlin as she checked over Barry and Joe was talking to John Diggle about what had been happened in Central City for the last few months. "I'll let Cisco come up with the names."

"This is... Quite the operation." Oliver folded his arms across his chest. "And I thought _we_ had one hell of a set up."

"Oliver, if you have something to say just say it."

He lowered his voice. "That night... Do you...?"

"Do I think about it over and over again? No. Do I regret us sleeping together? No. Do I ever want it to happen again? Good god, no." She held up a hand. "No offence. You're just... Not my type."

"Fair enough."

"If Team Arrow ever needs anything, we're right here, though."

"Well, the same goes for you guys." The various members of the teams returned to the Cortex. "My identity is a closely-guarded secret known only to a few, and if it were to get out, will endanger my family, my friends, and it would embolden my enemies to retaliate at me through them."

"What Oliver is trying to say, "Felicity translated, "is that he had a lovely time working with you and getting to know each of you, and he can't wait to do it again soon." 

"You know, it didn't sound like that's what he was saying," Cisco observed.

* * *

The next day Barry walked into the lab. Before he could greet Cisco and Caitlin, Caitlin spoke. "Lena wants to talk to you."

"Wh- what about?" Barry stuttered.

"It can't be anything good."

Barry walked over to Lena's office.

She gestured to the empty chairs in front of her desk. "Have a seat." Barry did as he was told, awkwardly so. "We haven't really had a one on one since you joined us here. And I think it's high time that happened."

"You are mad at me." Lena nodded. "Look, Lena-"

"Don't. I'm not going to run you over the coals about what happened the last couple of days. But I will say this. I know what the moral high ground does to people. It can be... Corrupting. People begin to think that they should have special treatment. But you weren't born with these abilities, Barry, so I'm hoping that you won't misuse them. With Iris, with Caitlin, Detective Thawne. I'm giving you a pass, but you only get the one." She indicated the door with her eyes. "You have training with Harrison."

Barry walked out to the Cortex. "Is it just me or is getting grilled by Lena a lot worse than getting grilled by Dr. Wells?"

Cisco walked up to him. "If you thought Dr. Wells was bad..." He let out a whistle. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."


	10. The Man In The Yellow Suit

Lena scanned the stack of index cards in her hand. "Big date?" Caitlin dropped her back on the chair in front of Lena. She slid, almost imperceptibly, on the table.

"Hm?"

Caitlin pointed to the index cards. "What're your big plans for today?"

Lena sighed and dropped the cards. "I agreed to give a talk at CCU. Days before Christmas, so my talk has to be deeply enlightening to keep them entertained. Plus... It's the first huge thing STAR Labs is doing since..." She brought her hands together, then pulled them apart. "Kablam!" She brought her hands back together and clasped them. "We've been a little preoccupied with Barry and meta-humans. I just want to begin re-establishing STAR Labs, where it belongs. Some people think that making the world a better place lies with Barry. I think we can still do wonders here." Cisco and Barry walked into the Cortex, following Harrison. Lena eyed them. "Sufficed to say, I'm nor particularly looking forward to this afternoon."

"Hey. I'm glad everyone is here." Barry reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled four identically wrapped boxes, handing one to each of his friends. "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you, Barry." Lena avoided eye contact with Barry, loosing a tight smile instead.

Harrison offered a more genuine smile. "I think I speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say you've been a gift for us, Barry." 

"That was cheesy," Lena mumbled. Barry pulled out a flask. "What's that?" 

"This is compliments of Iris... Grandma Esther's famous eggnog." 

Cisco nodded excitedly. "That's what I'm talking about." 

"Maybe later for me." Harrison let a sardonic look play on his face. "Wouldn't want to drink and drive."

"Did I say something wrong?" Barry asked.

Lena shook her head. "No... Uh," Lena lifted her hand when Barry offered her some eggnog. "I should keep a clear head." She waved the wrapped box. "Thank you, though." 

* * *

"Why are we only hearing about it now?" Lena asked the next day after Barry and Joe filled them in on the new case.

"The witness described seeing a yellow blur just like the one that killed Barry's mother," Joe answered. 

"Then we need to get cracking and stop this speed psycho. That..." Cisco pulled the candy cane out of his mouth and looked around at his teammates, waving his hand. "I wasn't trying to give him a name." 

"The crime scene at Mercury Labs was on a floor with highly secured vaults, and the witness said he was looking for something. Whatever it was, he wanted it badly enough to kill for it." 

"What do you know about this Mercury Labs?" Joe asked Lena and Harrison.

Lena deferred the question to Harrison. "Mercury was one of S.T.A.R. Labs' major competitors until our little setback, and then it catapulted to the forefront led by Dr. Christina McGee, brilliant but egocentric physicist." 

Lena scrolled through an article from Central City Science Update. "It says here Dr. McGee has secured half a billion dollars in private funding to develop, and I quote, 'prototypes for the technology of the future'." 

"Well, I'll be," Harrison stared at Lena, his lips curving up. "Tina's messing with tachyons."

Lena turned to Joe. "Superluminal particles." 

Joe nodded. "Of course. So what could someone do with one of those..." 

"Tachyons." 

"Thank you."

Harrison clasped his hands and rested his chin on the apex. "Become invincible? If you could devise a matrix stable enough to harness their power, you could travel faster than light." 

"He's gonna try to get them again," Barry said. "So we need to get what Mercury has and use it as a lure."

"Cisco and I can start working on a trap. You in?" Lena asked Harrison.

"I might, if I may, join Barry in talking to Tina."

Caitlin caught up with Lena on their way out. "Would you mind if I ran out for a bit? I didn't really sleep last night, I could use some caffeine?"

"Of course. Everything ok?" Caitlin nodded. "Ok. Just bring me some as well."

* * *

Day was breaking as Barry, Lena, Harrison and Joe convened at STAR Labs and Barry informed them about the events of the night before: his face off with The Man In The Yellow Suit.

"He acted like he knew me, like we'd done this before. I would get close, and he'd just pull away. I mean, this was just some sick game to him." 

"You'll catch him. We'll help," Lena reassured him. 

"No, you don't get it, all right? His speed, it is... it's beyond me. I'm not the fastest man alive. He is. So how do we catch somebody that even I can't keep up with?" 

"We set a trap," Lena said.

"The beautiful thing about force fields, Mr. Allen," Harrison said, "is they're impervious to speed. Now, we're almost finished fabricating the trap, and all that remains is for Detective West to procure the bait." 

"I'm on it. Barry, why don't you stay here?" 

"No, Joe, today is not the day to tell me to stay behind." Barry was out the door before anyone could stop him. 

Lena, Harrison and Joe looked from one another. "Go get the device, we'll finish the trap. We can deal with that," she cocked her head to the door, "later."

A few hours later, Joe retuned as Lena applied the finishing touches to the trap. She wiped her hands on a rag as she joined them upstairs in the Cortex. "The tachyon device is in place." 

"You think it'll work?" Joe asked.

Lena nodded. "Cisco and I went over the simulations all night. He's doing final checks now. It'll work. Where's Caitlin?"

Harrison shrugged in response.

Barry sighed. "So how do we advertise to him that the prototype's here?" 

"We'll take care of that," Harrison answered. 

The agreement the three had made hung in the air. "What's the problem?" Barry asked.

"Look, Barry...We have spoken, and... We think it would be best if you weren't here for this," Joe advised. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"You're too close to this." 

"Or maybe you're not close enough. If you hadn't been too scared and warned me that he was here weeks ago, I could have been prepared for this." 

"That's out of line, Barry," Lena wasn't concerned with coddling him. "Joe's right you're too close to this."

Harrison raised a hand. "I think what Lena is trying to say is that we can all appreciate Joe's concern for Iris, Barry." 

"That's why I have to be here! I'm the best chance at catching this guy!" 

Joe said what they all felt. "Not right now, not in this state." 

"This man stabbed my mother through the heart and sent my father to prison for it. This is my fight." 

"Not today, son." 

Barry stormed out as Joe let out a sigh. "We did the right thing, right?"

Lena rested her head against the doorframe. "Barry's being here could ruin everything. We need the meta to get into the trap. Barry might prevent that. And I did not work on that thing all night for Barry to jeopardise it." She stifled a yawn. "If nothing else, he needs a breather from this. Last night couldn't have been easy for him."

"Tonight's not going to be anymore fun," Joe observed. "I'm going to run to Jitters. Anyone?"

"I'll come with you." Lena pushed herself away from the doorframe and rubbed her neck

"Wells?" 

Harrison shook his head. "No, I'll leave you too it. I'm going to see if I can track down Cisco and Caitlin."

Joe was already out of the room when Lena caught Harrison staring. "What?"

"Is Barry the only one who needs to be distanced from this?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She pulled her jacket off the table.

"Barry's important to Joe. Joe's important to you."

"Barry's important to you. You're important to me too."

"Just... I just like knowing you're ok."

Lena smiled at him softly. "I'll bring you back something."

* * *

* * *

Lena came back a few hours later, carrying a cardboard tray of coffee and brownies, looking for Harrison. He wasn't in the Cortex so she dropped her goodies and went in search of him. As she approached the Cortex, she heard the voice. 

"I used to play this game in my head. What would I give up for just one more minute with him?" Lena's heart went out to her. She could relate. How many times had she played What If? What if she and James had stayed together? What if Kara had told her? What if she was more Luthor than she thought? She squeezed her eyes shut before she could let that game too far. Then they sprung open. What had Caitlin just said? "Seeing him like that, what he's become... Dear God... I wish he had just died that day." 

Lena turned the corner and found Cisco comforting Caitlin. "What's going on?"

Caitlin wiped her eyes. Cisco jumped up. "Hey, Lena! Look, Caitlin, it's Lena. How much of that did you hear?"

Lena walked over to Caitlin and crouched down in front of her. She took the other woman's hands. "Ronnie's alive."

"He's the Burning Man."

"Listen to me. We need to get through tonight, alright? After tonight, we will find Ronnie. We'll bring him home and we'll give him the help he needs. But we just need to get through tonight."

* * *

"Sending out another pulse." Cisco pressed the release, while Lena and the others kept an eye on the security footage in the basement.

"Are you certain this trap will work?" Joe asked over the comms. He was with the SWAT team in an area just off from the room where they had set up.

"I've sent up at least three charges into open satellite. if anyone's looking tachyonic particles, they'll know we got them." 

In an instant, Red Lightning moved up to the tachyonic prototype. Harrison was already leaving. "Let's see what we caught." 

This felt different to Lena, she hadn't felt this excitement over catching a meta-human before. She hadn't felt it in a long time. "I'm coming too."

"No."

"Enjoy wasting time trying to stop me."

It wasn't long before the reached the basement. Lena shivered. The air was noticeably chilly down here. "Cisco? Lights." Harrison and Lena entered the room as the lights came on. "Detective Thawne, would you like to read him his rights?" 

Out of the corner of her eye, Lena saw Joe lower his weapon. "Joe, what are you doing?" 

"Getting some answers. 14 years ago, you murdered Nora Allen. I want to know why." He didn't get a response. "Why?" 

The Man In The Yellow Suit glanced at the other occupants of the room, then stopped at Harrison. "Dr. Wells, we meet at last." 

Harrison moved close to the trap. "What do you want with the tachyonic particles?" 

"My goals are beyond your understanding." 

"Oh, I don't know, I'm a pretty smart guy. I knew you were exceptionally fast, so any trap we manufactured would have to be invisible. I knew your cells could repair themselves at extraordinary speeds, so you could withstand the damage this is doing to your body right now. The reason I know all this is because your powers are almost exactly like those of The Flash." 

"Oh, I'm not like The Flash at all. Some would say I'm the reverse." 

Caitlin's voice rang through the comms. "Dr. Wells, evacuate! Get out of there now!" 

But it was too late. He was out of the field and pulled Harrison back in. Harrison was being thrown around the containment field as if by some invisible force. 

"Harrison!" Lena shouted. 

"Cisco, turn off the barrier!" Joe ordered as the SWAT team waved their guns at the cell, waiting for an opening to shoot.

"If I turn it off, that thing's gonna get out." 

"Cisco, he's gonna kill Wells!" But Lena knew it would be too late. She grabbed a metal bar nearby and rammed it repeatedly into the trap's power source. As soon as the barriers dropped, he was out. "Find him."

Lena ran up the platform to Harrison, his face bloody. Before they could register what was happening, a red light shot through the room and every member of the SWAT Team instantly hit the floor, dead. The Man In The Yellow Suit stood in front of Eddie.

"I warned you not to hunt me." 

* * *

Lena watched while Caitlin put a final stitch in Harrison's arm. "I've been going over the data, and I still don't know why the containment system failed." 

Cisco stood next to her, guilt written across his face. "I checked it after you placed the tachyon... I must have missed something. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Cisco." 

Harrison glance at his colleagues. "But if you feel the need to apologize for something, you might start with the not telling me that Ronnie is still alive." 

"I told them we needed to get through tonight before we could deal with it."

"And I asked Cisco not to say anything. Once I saw what Ronnie had become, I needed... I needed time to see if I could make him whole again. I'm sorry. I know you're mad," Caitlin said. 

"No. I don't know what I would have done differently in your situation." He grabbed Caitlin's arm gently. "I know I have made you a lot of promises. I know I've not been able to keep them all. But on my life, I promise you this... We will bring Ronnie home. "

Later that evening Lena, Cisco and Caitlin joined the West's at their house.

Cisco and Caitlin were discussing something on the other side of the room while Barry was busy talking to Iris and Eddie. "Mm. Day like today, grandma Esther's eggnog seems a little light on the bourbon," Joe said as he poured a drink for Lena. 

"Still good though." She smiled tightly then let it fall. "Hey, Joe. I saw something weird tonight." 

"Yeah, Lena, I saw it too."

She did a final glance around the room, ensuring no one could hear them and lowered her voice for good measure. "I was going over the surveillance after The Flash took The Man In Yellow Outside. When they were going crazy on each other, I was watching the electricity coming off of them... yellow and red electricity." 

Joe's eyes widened. "When Barry was a kid, he said he saw red and yellow lightning in his house the night his mother died." 

"There were two of them. The man in yellow may have killed Barry's mother, but... There was another speedster there that night." 

"Did you say this to anyone else?"

Lena shook her head and frowned as she realised her answer. "No. Just you. Harrison kinda had a lot going on."

"Dad," Iris called. Everyone was standing by the tree. "It's time." 

They didn't discuss it again but their evening passed in merriment and cheer. As the level of eggnog lowered, Lena's phone buzzed. She checked it and frowned.

"Is everything ok?" Iris asked.

"Um, yeah. My home alarm is going off." She held up her phone. "I should deal with this."

Barry stood up. "Do you need someone to go with you?"

Lena was about to reject the offer but the memory of Harrison being tossed around still lingered in the forefront of her mind. "Yeah, actually, that would be great."

"I can take you," Eddie offered. "If someone's in the house-"

"It's probably nothing. The system's been giving me trouble for a while. Barry offered to take a look at it weeks ago," she turned to Barry. "Let's go."

Lena stood on the steps while Barry took a look around. "Ok," he said, turning to her, "hang on."

"Huh." Lena admitted to herself that she hadn't considered the logistics of this, being carried through the streets of her city by a superbeing.

"What?"

"Nothing." Lena put her arms around his neck and Barry crouched down, catching her behind her knees and picking her up. "For the record? This never happened."

"You ready?"

"Nope. But it's now or never."

They were outside her apartment before she could believe. Lena turned the key in the door. Barry stepped inside. She grabbed his arm and tapped the table near the door; a hidden drawer popped open and Lena pulled out the gun that rested inside. She returned Barry's look of utter shock with one that she hoped said, _we'll talk about this later_ and they continued into the apartment. It was empty, but the moonlight shone on the balcony and Lena could make out her intruder. She lowered her gun. "Harrison."

"Dr. Wells?"

"Barry. Lena. I thought you'd still be at Joe's."

Lena held up her phone. "Alarm went off. Barry brought me here."

"Yeah," Barry turned to her, incredulous. "You own a gun?"

"Yes, Barry, not everyone has superpowers. Thank you for bringing me here."

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing everyone," Harrison said, staring out over the city. 

"No, honestly, Lena's probably not the only one I have to bring home. I'll see you guys."

Lena watched Barry leave, then sat down next to Harrison. "How are you feeling?"

"Bruised." He didn't look at her but she could see his eyes glistening. "I... I miss her."

Lena could only stare at the rare mention of Tess.


End file.
